Under the agreement, first arranged in 2004, LeasePlan clients requiring fleet management services in the Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania will be referred to the Swedish bank’s fleet subsidiary.

Similarly, Swedbank customers requiring fleet service outside the Baltic region and the bank’s domestic market will be referred to LeasePlan which operates in 23 European countries.

Ford and Autoglass sign three-year fleet lease deal

Ford has agreed to supply Autoglass with leased vehicles for its mobile technicians until 2015.

The deal has been extended globally from the current European arrangement and will now include a supply of 8,000 Ford motors across 34 markets, with the opportunity to later include Russia and China.

The deal was co-ordinated by Ged Raymond, head of fleet at Autoglass, on behalf of parent vehicle glass repair company Belron.

Andre May, sales and marketing director at Autoglass, said: “To be selected by the Belron International organisation in a multiregional agreement underlines that the global approach of the One Ford strategy is working effectively for our customers.”

Lex supplies five EVs to Siemens

Technology multinational Siemens has taken delivery of five Nissan Leafs from UK fleet provider Lex Autolease.

The cars will be used to run between Siemen’s Lincoln office and the University of Lincoln Engineering Hub and are the first electric vehicles in the technology giant’s UK fleet.

John Webb, principle consultant at Lex Autolease, said the deal was made possible thanks to the good relationship the company has with Nissan.

Siemens has installed its own recharging points for the vehicles at its Lincoln base and is in talks with the city council to install more in town.

Business car owners change habits in reaction to fuel prices

UK business drivers are lowering fuel consumption in reaction to rocketing prices, according to ALD Automotive.

The UK-based vehicle leasing and fleet management company found 50% of the 1,000 drivers surveyed said they shop around to find the lowest fuel prices and 20% reduce their driving miles. Nearly two-thirds have adopted economy driving, such as slowing down or going without air conditioning.

The study also revealed that telematics – onboard vehicle technology – has been increasingly used by drivers to help boost fuel efficiency.

Managing director of Automotive, Keith Allen said: “It’s no surprise that drivers are taking additional steps to save fuel, whether it be through shopping around for the cheapest price, or changing their driving behaviour.”

Fuel prices in the UK have reached a record high of 142.42p/litre and 147.84p/litre for diesel.